


Sunflowers and Slime

by BarPurple



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark Castle, Dark Castle Fluff, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 16:32:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9333506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: There are visitors, of a sort, in the Dark Castle.





	

Belle frowned at the shimmering trails on the stones of the entrance hall, looking further she found the shelled source of the slime. Her hands landed on her hips and an exasperated sigh left her lips.

“RUMPLESTILTSKIN!”

The spinning wheel stopped creaking and the rap of boots on stone rang out.

“What are you yelling about this…”

“Stop!”

Rumple froze, one booted foot hanging in the air. He watched as Belle took odd dancing steps towards him, she laid her hands on his arm and pushed so he twisted on the ball of his foot. He floundered for a second, just because his balance was thrown by her manhandling him, nothing to do with the heat of her palms through his shirt, once he had some composure back he sneered; “What is going on, little maid?”

In theory he was the master of the castle and he was the one doing the chastising here for being interrupted, but Belle gave him a stern look and his affected ire wilted as he waited for her to explain.

“I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t turn people into snails inside the castle anymore.”

Rumple frowned and fluttered his hands at her.

“I’ve not turned anyone into a snail in ages!”

(Twenty-nine days, seventeen hours and a handful of minutes, not since Belle had begged him with tears in her eyes and steel in her voice after she nearly stepped on an annoying princeling).

Belle took an impatient breath and jabbed her finger toward the floor.

“Then who are they?”

Rumple bent at the waist, then carefully got down on his hands and knees so that he was nose to eyestalk with one of the snails. A strange, but not unpleasant feeling shivered down Belle’s spine as she looked at the Dark One on his knees at her feet. Her eyes in no way lingered on his leather clad rump which wriggled in the air as he twisted from side to side to examine the snail from different angles.

Rumple lifted the snail by its shell and popped it onto his index finger then rose gracefully to his feet. Belle didn’t recoil as the wagged the snail bearing finger in her face, but her eyebrow did quirk at his antics.

“This is a common garden snail, it was born a snail, will live a snail, die a snail. This is nothing to do with me, dearie.”

“So how did it and its friends get into the castle?”

Rumple opened his mouth, and then snapped it shut. His little maid had a point, vermin should not be able to scamper or slither into the Dark Castle. He glanced down at the slimy trail the invader had left in its wake. With a snap of his fingers the trial glowed and began pulsing in the direction the snail had come from. Belle and Rumple began a convoluted, twisting journey around the entrance hall. The snail was either speedier than most of his ilk or had been in the castle over night to had travelled so far. Eventually the winding trail brought them to the central table where yesterday Belle had placed a large vase of sunflowers.

“Aha! Aha, I told you those sunny blooms had no place in the Dark Castle. Now we have an infestation, dearie.”

Belle bowed her head in apology.

“I had no idea the flowers had stowaways. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions, Rumple.”

She gently put her hand on his arm to reassure him she was truly sorry. Rumple’s stared wide eyed at her little fingers, before giving his head a shake and wagging the snail bearing finger in her face again.

 

“I should make you track down every one of these interlopers, but since it is almost teatime…”

He twirled his hand and the snails and their slimy trails vanished. Belle gave him a little curtsey and whirled on her heel in a flurry of skirts.

“I best got and make the tea. There’ll be peach tarts unless the snails got to them.”

“I’ll crush them if they did.”

Belle glanced over her shoulder at him and found him trailing a single finger over the petals of the sunflowers. 

“I’ll get rid of those after tea, if you’d like.”

Rumple started a little at the sound of her voice and rapidly shook his head.

“No, no need they can stay. People will probably find their presence off putting.”

He really wasn’t as much of a beast as he liked to make out.


End file.
